The Indian telecom operators have been pretty vocal about not having a level playing field compared to the OTT (over-the-top) texting platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and more. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry body representing Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) has said that it hopes a level playing field can be ensured between the telcos and the OTT texting apps when it comes to meeting regulatory compliances.
This is not the first time COAI is making such a request. OTT apps do not have to meet the regulatory compliances that telcos have to. This irks the Indian telecom operators, and they have asked the government to bring OTT apps under regulation before. However, the government decided not to include the OTT platforms under telecom regulation in the new telecom act, 2023 (note that it doesn’t mean that it will never happen).
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Talking about curbing the unsolicited commercial communications (UCC), a problem that has long plagued the industry and its consumers, COAI said, “COAI and its members are working closely with the Government and the Regulator towards addressing the issue of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC).”
“TRAI’s Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), was introduced in 2018, to address the menace of UCC. TCCCPR is based on a technological solution, i.e. Blockchain - Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), to provide the best possible solution to curb UCC. This is the first and the largest use case of DLT in telecom, globally. This also involves multiple stakeholders, i.e. Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), Telemarketers, Aggregators, Principal Entities (PEs), etc,” COAI added.
The government has allocated the 140 series for promotional voice calls and has now prescribed the 160 series for transactional and service voice calls.
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It will be the explicit consent of the consumer that will allow the businesses or enterprises to send commercial communications. This measure will contribute in the reduction of UCC, which is also a cause of cyber frauds in India.
SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, said, “While the industry continues to assist the DoT, the TRAI and the Department of Consumer Affairs etc. in addressing the UCC menace, we look forward to progressive action from the authorities to ensure a level playing field in regulatory compliance requirements between TSPs and other messaging platforms providing similar communication services.”
